Blossoms on the Wind
by baby-kitsune9
Summary: Soul transfer jutsu bloodline limit. Description inside. OC-ish Sakura/Kakashi rated M. My first Oc-ish Sakura/Kakashi story. so please be nice and R&R and tell me what you think.
1. Chapter 1

**_My first Sakura/Kakashi story so please be nice._**

**_Sakura has a hidden bloodline limit that no one knows about. One that can only be activated the moment her heart stops, forcing her soul to trade places with another person of her blood line. The only problem... She could be trapped in the past or future as someone else. And with a stranger inhabiting her body, how will things change for her friends and village without her to help them?_**

**_(******************************************************************************************************************)_**

It was supposed to be a simple mission, Kakashi thought as he stared down blankly at his blood covered hands. Still sticky and wet from the wound that he had been so desperately trying to staunch the flow from even as he and the rest of team Kakashi had hauled ass from point A to point B- the village hospital before Sakura could finish bleeding out in his arms.

Even now, here in the waiting room outside the ER with the rest of the team, he could still hear Tsunade's shouts as she had taken in their sudden appearance before realizing that the slender almost child like body tightly clasped in Kakashi's arms was covered in blood from head to toe from the multiple lacerations that had resulted in her current state. All of which ranged from small and insignificant to large and gaping wounds.

_Fatal. _His mind reminded him almost numbly. Several of the wounds were fatal. He wasn't even sure if Lady Tsunade with all her extensive medical knowledge could save Sakura's life this time. Not when her throat had been partially slit open and there had been a large gaping hole in her chest that reminded him of the only one other time he'd ever seen such a wound.

And that had been when Naruto had fought to bring Sauske back after he had defected.

_Don't forget the ruptured organs in her abdomen- _Kakashi hunched over a little bit in his seat, for once not even bothering to try and keep his composure and squeezed his lone blue eye shut as hard as he could. Wishing with all his might that he wasn't actually here. That this wasn't happening, it was all just a bad dream. And any minute now he would wake up in a cold sweat and realize this and Sakura would be-

He heard the ER door open and Tsunade shout loud enough to shatter any illusions he was so desperate to hold onto, "I need a crash cart now! She's coding!" Without realizing what he was doing Kakashi was on his feet and started in the direction of Tsunade's voice. His mind going totally blank as he tried to reach Sakura only to be grabbed by several people and held back while several people pushed a crash cart into the ER and the door swung closed.

Barring him entrance as he let out a loud sounding howl of grief...

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2014-

Sakura De'Winter had been walking on the crowded streets of Boston on her way to the doctors for a checkup because she'd been hearing things again and having blackouts when she heard a small voice say right next to her ear- _Help me! _A prickle of unease shot down her spine as she reached up to scratch at her ear as she looked around at the sea of faces around her. Trying to see who was the joker buzzing around her ear like a damned fly.

And huffed a little when she realized that there was no one close enough to her to speak in her ear in such a way. _Dammit, _She thought in annoyance as she stuffed her hand back in her jacket pocket and resumed walking again. _I'll have to have my meds increased again if this keeps up. _She thought when she heard the voice again, this time stronger, as if it were becoming closer.

_Help Me!_

Shaking her head Sakura tried to ignore it, but after hearing it getting louder and louder after a few minutes she was starting to get scared. _Please, please, please don't let this be another ghost or something seeking- _Her thoughts were cut off as she rounded the next street corner and stopped cold as she came face to face with a transparent young girl about her age with mid back length strawberry blond hair and wide green eyes, wearing a strange looking outfit and black headband of some kind.

_Please help me! _The girl said in desperation, her eyes swimming with tears. She looked so freaked. Did she not even know that she was dead? Sakura wondered as she sighed. _God what a pain. But I guess I can't be a bitch all the time and ignore something like this_, She thought as she tentatively reached out a hand to the girl and tried her best to give her a friendly smile as she said, "Here. Take my hand."

The girl looked at her for a moment as if she were dumbfounded then smiled. _Thank you! _She said as she started to reach for her hand.

"Don't thank me yet kid. Let's just take care of you then-" A strange feeling settled in her stomach, almost like her brother had dropped one of his prized dumb bells on her there like he had a month ago as the girl wrapped her fingers around her own and too late, she realized, that this wasn't an ordinary spirit that needed help crossing over.

This- This girl... She was still alive! And it was at that precise moment that the world under her seemed to open up and she felt herself suddenly falling as the girl said very softly, _I'm sorry..._

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In the ER-

Tsunade stepped back from her young pupil and wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her arm. She had no time to bother with the nurses, or to try and look elegant. Not now. Sakura's heartbeat was back, but her pulse was thready and weak. Far weaker than it should have been.

They had managed to heal the major wounds to an extent (the neck wound and shoulder wound that had nearly turned one of her lungs into scrambled eggs) but they still had yet to truly stabilize her due to the wounds in her abdomen. Those would have to be fixed by surgery. "Alright, Shizune, Akito, Hanna all of you will be assisting me in surgery. We haven't any time to lose. The rest of you will make sure that Sakura doesn't flat line again while we scrub up after we have returned you may leave."

"Hai!" They all replied as they moved to do as she bid them. Failure wasn't an option after all. Not when their patient was Haruno Sakura, the Lady Tsunade's own beloved pupil.


	2. Chapter 2

**Three days later-**

The falling sensation didn't end until Sakura awoke with a strangled scream in an unfamiliar place with sterile white walls that smelled strangely like rubbing alcohol and disinfectant. But that wasn't what really caught her attention. What really caught her attention was the IV she couldn't recall being hooked up too and how much _pain_ she seemed to be in. Her throat, shoulder and abdomen all felt as if they were_ burning_, they hurt so badly.

Mentally chastising herself for so naively trusting the 'spirit' that she had met up with on the streets, she curled in on herself and tried to block out the pain as she became vaguely aware that she was no longer alone in the room. "Sakura! Are you alright?" A woman asked as she came walking around the bed she was laying in.

Sakura opened her mouth to ask who she was when the woman leaned over her and carefully turned her back over onto her back and frowned at her as she thought, _Shit. What the hell happened to my voice?! _Somewhat panicked about the fact that she couldn't speak, Sakura looked at the woman almost helplessly before noticing that the woman was dressed strangely. Like in one of those gaudy wrap around shirts that sort of look like they're part of a kimono. And she had a sky blue diamond shaped mark in the middle of her forehead.

_What the- _She started to open her mouth to ask the woman who she was since she wasn't her normal doctor when she heard a voice say close to her ear, _Welcome to wonderland Alice. I'm sure you'll like it here. _

"Does your throat hurt?" The woman asked as she noted that Sakura was trying to speak again and figured that she was trying to ask for water or juice. Sakura gave her a dark look that practically screamed, duh.

Fuck yes her goddamn throat hurt. Would it kill the woman to tell her what the hell had happened to her after she had blacked out? Because it felt like she'd been mugged then hit by a bus! _Oh god_, She thought as another, stronger surge of panic engulfed her. Had she been mugged then hit by a truck or a bus?! Cause she wouldn't put it past one of her blackouts to occur during a walk across the street or something.

God knew that it had happened before a time or two. But it was never after a mugging...

A plastic cup with a lid and straw appeared in her view and she blinked and looked up at the woman as she leaned over and said softly, "I'm sorry your throat hurts. It'll probably be tender for the next week or so. So try not to use it if you can. Now drink some of this and let me check your shoulder and abdomen to make sure that the stitches haven't come undone."

She took the cup from the woman cautiously and took a tentative sip and found that she was drinking orange juice instead of water like she thought as she wondered what had happened to her shoulder and...abdomen? Did she say?

"You know you gave everyone quite a scare the other night," The woman said in a scolding tone without any heat or venom. Lifting her head slightly, she studied the woman and tried to follow her words even as she continued to speak. "Everyone from team seven has been sleeping in my waiting room for the past few days. I've asked them all to leave, but they all refused. Even Kakashi. And if that wasn't enough to irritate me... Lee and Ino found out that you were gravely wounded and ran through the village gathering everyone they could. So now I have a grand total of almost twenty to thirty people bothering me and my staff every hour on the hour asking to see you..." The woman said as she finished checking her shoulder then pulled the covers back and carefully lifted her hospital gown so that she could see her abdomen and pulled the bandage off of her and Sakura felt her heart stutter in her chest upon seeing the long line that ran all the way across her abdomen. From one side to the other.

The blond cleaned it and placed a new bandage over the wound when she caught Sakura's eye and frowned. The girl looked paler than she had just a moment ago. Her green eyes questioning as her slender body started to shake ever so slightly as her eyes started to tear up. _Oh god, what had happened to her? What had caused her wounds? _

"Sakura? Are you okay?" The woman asked.

No she wasn't okay. She had no idea what had happened to her or where she was or... She was starting to get light headed. Why was she starting to get light headed? She wondered a second or so before she passed out, causing Tsunade to jump up and shout for Shizune.


	3. Chapter 3

Naruto stood at the nearest window in the waiting room, chewing on his thumbnail which had grown out to resemble Kiba's claw like nails while they had waited anxiously for someone to come by and tell them something about Sakura. Of course his anxiety had spiked when Tsunade (damned, stupid woman) had come out with her hands and clothing stained red and shouted for a crash cart just before he had had to wrestle Kakashi to the ground and render him unconscious for a while with a harsh blow to one of his pressure points.

Before grasping him by his wrist and dragging him back into the room where Tenzou and Sai sat wide eyed and silent as he more or less dropped the silver haired shinobi next to the two and then growled out, "If he tries that again..." His azure eyes bled to scarlet as he left the two to interpret what else he was going to say before slowly moving out of their personal space and going back to his window.

His mind abuzz with all the different times Sakura had done something great. The times she had been hurt trying to protect a client. The time she had come see him in the hospital after Sauske had beaten him and had smiled and told him it was okay. He didn't fail to keep his promise. Not completely, because part of the promise had a lot to do with him coming back alive himself. Her training under Tsunade. The time she had helped to save Gaara's life after helping Naruto and the others on their team wrestle his body away from the Akutsuki.

The time she had punched Sai... The newest member of their team, and replacement for Sauske, for insulting both him and Sauske in the same breath. That had to be one of his favorite moments since he'd come to like and even tolerate Sai.

Of course that had been three days ago when he hadn't been sure that she would survive. And as elated as he was that Tsunade had managed to keep her alive thus far- He still couldn't totally relax. Not while she wouldn't allow the lot of them to confirm for themselves that Sakura was indeed alive.

And all of the senseless waiting was finally starting to get on his already frayed nerves.

It wouldn't be long before he started lashing out- It was about that time that Shikamaru, Ino and Choji came walking into the room. Ino holding a bouquet of lovely yet delicate peonies and cosmos and snap dragons. All in pink and white and softly subdued shades of green. Choji held a bag in his hand with a tiny stuffed animal attached to it and walked over to Naruto and set the bag down.

Naruto stared at him empathetically for a moment before he said, "Ino was nice enough to get Sakura a couple of things from home. It's nothing big. But It might make her feel more comfortable. Ya know, a change of clothing. Her favorite pillow. A small group of stuffed toys that Sakura apparently made herself when Sai joined Team Kakashi-" As if to demonstrate what he was talking about Choji reached into the bag and slowly pulled out four little likenesses of Kakashi, himself, Tenzou, and Sai. Each one either brandishing a weapon or in the middle of preforming a jutsu as Ino cut in where Choji had momentarily stopped speaking.

"Everytime you guys had a run in with the Akutsuki or Sauske, she would feel so scared and depressed that she used to lock herself in her house- in her room, in the dark and she'd post these little guys at the windows and doors," Ino said pointing to Sai and Tenzou before going on to say, "And she'd keep the other two with her while she slept because the dolls of Naruto and Kakashi are the ones that made her feel that she could close her eyes and rest. As silly as it sounds, she calls you guys her last line of defense."

Naruto remained strangely silent and still throughout the whole talk as he stared at the little likenesses of himself and Kakashi, earning worried looks from Ino and Shikamaru as the shadow user sighed and reached behind him and pulled something that looked suspiciously like a small box out of his back pants pocket, and handed it to Naruto who got a perturbed look on his face as he curiously opened said box and let his breath leave him in a hiss.

Inside the box was a silver chain necklace with a pink rainbow moonstone that had been carved into the shape of a cherry blossom. In all honesty it was a beautiful and thoughtful gift if perhaps a little over the top. And as Naruto placed the lid back on the box, one thing crossed his mind. Shikamaru had better not walk down any dark isolated alley's in the near future. Otherwise he'd break his legs for daring to give team Kakashi's, Sakura, such a lovely get well gift.

"Uh... Naruto y-you've got blood in your- Omph!" Shikamaru was cut off by a sharp elbow to the ribs from Ino, causing him to double over as she hissed at him,

"Moron," Before turning back to Team Kakashi and addressing them. "Have there been any updates on Sakura's condition?" And because Naruto didn't feel like speaking it was Tenzou who was left to answer her question.

"No. Nothing. We haven't heard anything since the morning after we came in when Tsunade moved her to the ICU to recover."

"But she is _alive_ right?" Ino asked anxiously, her blue eyes starting to take on a glassy sheen as they teared up.

"As far as we know she is. Tsunade refuses to tell us anything aside from that."

Ino got a thoughtful look on her face before stating, "And she's taken me off of the work roster here at the hospital... I'm assuming to keep me away from Sakura's room." Sai nodded his head then said,

"I have observed that only Tsunade herself and Shizune have been coming and going from the ICU area."

"I see." Was all that Ino said when Shizune suddenly ran by the waiting room at break neck speed with a syringe in hand, looking as pale as death itself. Naruto narrowed his eyes on her retreating form and started to move towards the door when all of a sudden his entire body was on lock down, and he couldn't move a muscle. Slowly turning his head to glare at Shikamaru for stopping him the shadow user sighed tiredly before simply stating,

"Don't. If Shizune is running that fast then something must have happened to de-stabilize Sakura's already fragile condition and the last thing anyone needs is you getting in the way. You'll have to just suck it up and wait like the rest of us and hope for the best."

"No," Naruto said as his glare lost some of it's malice as he thought, _There is no point in hoping. Because Sakura will not die._ He knew this totally with conviction. He'd known the girl long enough to know that right now, where ever she was in the hospital, she was fighting tooth and nail for her life. She would not leave them. She would not abandon team Kakashi to living a life of any kind without her.

Because she knew how dearly the price that they would pay if she died as a small voice in his head said.

_The team that works and trains together- Dies together._


	4. Chapter 4

"What happened?" Shizune practically shouted as she came into Sakura's room and found Lady Tsunade trying to hold down the smaller young woman's convulsing body.

"_I. Don't. Know_. Now get over here and help me stop her convulsions!" Tsunade snapped in irritation as she tried to hold Sakura down by the arm and still her head at the same time. The last thing her pupil needed was one or even more of her wounds to come open while she was convulsing. Especially since Tsunade's chakra was low from saving her the other night and hadn't quite recovered completely just yet.

Shizune moved to do as she bid and leaned over the pinkette to take over while passing Tsunade the syringe she'd fixed as she had run down the hall to see what had her mistress sounding so frightened and concerned at the same time and tried to hold Sakura down to the best of her ability without flat out pinning her to the bed under her body while Tsunade gave Sakura the shot and then returned to her pupil's side to help Shizune while the drugs slowly took effect and the convulsions gradually stopped.

Leaving the pinkette unconscious, and covered in a fine sheen of sweat with her muscles locked up, _painfully_. Thankfully there was a bit of muscle relaxant in the room to help her slowly relax her body. But Tsunade wouldn't resort to that until after she tried giving her a massage first. After all if she stayed in this state for too long then tried to move, she could break her own bones or tear her own muscle and ligaments.

"Ahhh- That was too close." Tsunade said as she started to release Sakura's shoulder and unwrap her other arm from the girl's neck when Shizune stepped back and then swore, drawing her warm brown eyes to her long time companion and friend before glancing down at Sakura and letting her breath leave her lungs in a long exhaled hiss as she noticed the bit of blood that had soaked through the covers and swore herself.

_Dammit! _Some of Sakura's stitches must have popped. "Shizune get me some gloves, anti bacterial wipes, a needle, thread, and a new hospital gown and set of new sheets." Shizune stood there for a moment, seemingly transfixed by the sight of crimson staining the usually pristine white hospital sheets when she heard Tsunade give an impatient growl and snapped out of whatever funk she'd been in and quickly bolted from the room to do as she was bid.

After all, the more time she spent day dreaming- the more time the rest of Sakura's stitches had to come loose and cause the young woman's abdomen to come apart- and causing her to bleed to death in front of Tsunade.

Rushing down the hall, she passed the waiting room with team Kakashi again and was pulled to a stop when a hand snagged her arm and forced her to come to a halt. Looking over to see who had her, she met the crimson stare of a very, very _irked_ demon container as she blinked down at Naruto in almost comical horror.

At this point though she wasn't sure who she was more willing to face. Naruto or Tsunade.

Maybe she should just flip a coin?

"Sakura." The teen said in an growling tone, his voice telling Shizune that she could either answer him now or... He could start throwing a fit that would make the Kyubbi look like a bunny by comparison.

Sighing, Shizune answered as quickly as she could. "Is alive. She just had a seizure and the stitches holding the wound on her abdomen closed popped. So I need to hurry and get what Lady Tsunade asked for or she'll bleed out!" The moment she said those last words, Naruto released her so suddenly that she almost face planted right there in the middle of the hallway as the rest of the people who had come to hear and see Sakura, peeked out of the various rooms that they had been in to see what was going on as Naruto asked,

"What does Tsunade need?"

Shizune looked at him in confusion for a moment then stuttered out what Tsunade had asked her to get and was amazed by what she saw. Naruto caught the eye of several of the other teens and together each of them was able to pull together what Tsunade had sent her for in less time than she would have. Then Naruto took each item and turned back to Shizune and handed her the stuff and said, "Go." And then stepped back out of her way.

"Uh...thanks." Shizune said awkwardly before Naruto said simply,

"Just save her Shizune."


	5. Chapter 5

Tsunade finished sewing, cleaning and re-doing the bandage meant to cover Sakura's abdomen before moving to help Shizune give Sakura a bit of a sponge bath after they changed the sheets on Sakura's bed. And then replaced the young nin upon the bed and drew on her fresh hospital gown before pulling the sheets up over her prone form before then exchanging a glance with each other.

It had been three horrible, _grueling_ days since the night Sakura had been brought to the hospital and Tsunade knew if they waited any longer to give any of Sakura's friends news about her condition- they'd have a full on riot on their hands. "I think it's time to inform team Kakashi and company on Sakura's status." Tsunade said with a tired sigh.

"Yes Lady Tsunade." Shizune said as she stepped back away from the bed after giving the pinkette one last look before turning and gathering up the ruined bed sheets and hospital gown. They'd have to be washed if they were ever to be used again. She thought as she walked out of the ICU and headed down the hall to the laundry before deciding to go tell everyone that Sakura would be okay.

After all, anyone who could survive such horrible wounds like hers- and still continue to live through the most critical days after- obviously would survive anything that was thrown at them. Hell at this point, Shizune was seriously starting to think that Sakura could outlive Naruto! Which was a terrifying thought in itself since the teen was practically immortal.

Heading into a small rest room just a little ways around the corner from the waiting room and the people in it and took just a few moments to wash her hands and her face as she tried to think of what to say exactly.

_Well Sakura is stable now and her life isn't in any real danger anymore aside from the wound on her abdomen. Speaking of which case- she'll be off duty for at least a month until she's finally healed. _

Yeah. That would go over well with Naruto and the rest of team Kakashi. The knowledge of knowing that Sakura would live, and be off the mission's roster would go a long way to ease everyone's mind a bit. The only problem was that while she was off the roster, they would continue to go on dangerous missions and their chances of coming back whole would be cut to less than half.

Walking out of the restroom, she headed for the waiting room and almost paused when she saw that the rest of the rookie nine had joined Naruto, Sai, Tenzou, and Kakashi in the waiting room that they had been camping out in for the past few days. Everyone was speaking in whispered tones, the girls- Hinata, Tenten, and Ino all looked almost as dead on their feet as Kakashi did given the fact that the only sleep he'd had in the past three days had been the night Sakura had been brought in...

During her surgery, when he'd been rendered unconscious by Naruto.

Everyone must have heard her approach. Because one minute everyone was speaking in soft almost inaudible tones, and the next- there were more eyes on her than there were on a spider- and it was really creeping her out!

"Sakura?" Ino asked rudely.

Shizune gave the girl a wary smile and a thumbs up. "Her stitches have been fixed and she's been cleaned up and is now presentable for visitors. But all of you will have to keep your visit short since she's still pretty out of it and can't interact- So," Shizune broke off with a sudden awkward clap of her hands before asking, "Who wants to go in first?"

There was a heartbeat of silence before Ino jumped up and down looking overly excited and Shizune was about to step aside and let the girl run and let the girl see her friend when Shikamaru and Neji both asked in unison, "Where's Naruto and the rest of team Kakashi?" Just in time for everyone to turn and see the doors to the ICU swing closed after a blond slipped through.

_Oh dear._ Shizune thought nervously as Ino growled and than threw down the flowers that she had brought for Sakura and shouted, "Dammit! You bums! Haven't you guy's ever hear of a best friend's rights?!"


	6. Chapter 6

2014-

Sakura's eyes fluttered open to see a trail of florescent lights hanging over her head in a pristine white ceiling and wanted to frown as her eyes closed again for what could have been a moment. Or an hour. _Why did she have no concept of time? She was conscious. So she should have some concept of time, shouldn't she? _She wondered as little snippets of conversation drifted her way from various sources.

"Sakura De'Winter... Age-twenty one. Local..."

"Happened?"

"Found unconscious...alley."

"What does her file say?"

"File says- Prone to blackouts...due to- Is this even possible? I mean, is it a legit medical condition?"

"Prone to blackouts due to psychic phenomenon... Takes meds- Mood stablizers, antipsychotics... Apparently so." Sakura frowned as the bits and pieces of information she was picking up started to give her a headache.

"Family?"

"Older brother... Out in the waiting room-"

"Take this file and see if everything on it is up to date," An authoritative voice said a moment before she felt the air above her stir and a second later her eyes were pried open one by one and a bright, _annoying_ light was flashed into them. Temporarily blinding her as the same voice from a moment ago asked, "Sakura? Sakura? Can you hear me?"

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Konoha two days later-

Sakura awoke to the softly whispered sounds of something sharp sliding through something soft and nearly decided to keep her eyes closed out of dread. If it wasn't for whatever was being cut up being put aside and a large, rough palmed hand gently placing itself against her skin- she might have thought that she was having a flash back to a traumatic event from when she was ten or something.

Said event might not have been so traumatic for her if she had at that point realized that she could see spirits. And that most spirits- however frightening they appeared- weren't harmful in any way. With a few exceptions here and there.

One such exception had been one that had followed her home and stayed in her bedroom closet and had even killed her family's pet cat and skinned it, staining her bedroom floor and clothing and shoes crimson with it's blood in an attempt to frame her for it's death and isolate her so that it could continue to prey on her fear and spiritual energy.

And she would admit, the event had shocked not just her, but her entire family. Many of whom tended to avoid her after it had occurred.

She waited a heartbeat or so, trying to fight the urge to have a panic attack as she slowly- very, very, very slowly, opened her eyes and then blinked at the blurry image of a blond with the most amazing azure blue eyes leaning over her slightly. Blocking what little light there was from her eyes in an effort to give her some time to adjust before he moved back slightly with a sigh and a small smile.

Her head tipped back on her pillow to follow his movements, for some reason not wanting to let him out of her sight as he sat back in the lounge chair by her bed and picked up a plate with an half peeled apple and knife on it and resumed peeling the fruit while she watched him in total awe. He wasn't even looking at the damned slippery fruit in his hands and he hadn't cut himself yet!

If she'd ever tried something like that, she'd wind up with her arm missing, and perhaps a few dead passer-by's too.

_Life just isn't fair sometimes..._ She thought sardonically to herself as the blond finally finished peeling the skin from the fruit then started to cut it up into pieces before he bothered to speak. "Are you hungry?" She blinked at his question, unsure if he really cared one way or another if she was hungry or not. Besides, she couldn't exactly speak to answer him anyways.

Her neck and throat felt like they were on fire.

It just wasn't a pleasant feeling at all.

"Sakura," The blond said as he set the plate of apple pieces aside again and leaned forward so that his face was a little closer to her own. This time she was distracted by more than just his hair and eyes. This guy- whoever he was- was a total hottie! Strong stubborn jaw, straight nose, wide and slightly angled eyes, blond hair was longish in length. Hanging around his face and down to the middle of his back in a ponytail.

Reaching out with her uninjured arm, she hesitated for a moment and then placed her hand against his cheek. Running her thumb along the silken skin of his face, earning a small frown from the young man as he placed his hand over hers and gave it a squeeze before jumping up out of his chair and stalking across the room where the plastic cup she had drank from before was sitting on a table. "Sorry. I forgot that you couldn't speak because of the wound to your throat. Give me a sec to get you something to drink then you can try eating."

He left her sight for a moment and then returned with two orange juice cartons and walked back over to where he had been sitting and set everything down so that he could prepare her cup for her as he said, "Tell you what... If you can manage to drink some of this while I cut the apple pieces into smaller bits- I'll hand feed you. And I won't even complain if you don't clean the plate. Deal?"

Again Sakura stared at him, her expression somewhat questioning now as he glanced over at her and caught the look on her face before she could hide it and frowned. _What was that about? _Naruto wondered as he finished pouring the orange juice into the plastic cup before adding a small pain medicine tablet and stirred it into the drink before screwing the lid back onto the cup and moving to adjust Sakura's position so that she could drink.


	7. Chapter 7

**_Geez- ya'll hate me or something? If I don't know how the story is how will I know if it's any good or not..._**

**_By the way, on an unrelated note- Happy belated father's day!_**

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Naruto could count on his hands the sheer number of times Sakura had almost died in the line of duty as he helped her sit up enough to drink some of the pain killer laced juice that he had prepared for her before he carefully, and gently lay her back on the bed and held a small piece of apple up to her mouth and watched her take it.

Because her throat was so sore and somewhat swollen she would have had trouble eating anything that wasn't bite sized. Strange how he hadn't been able to recall that the moment she had opened her eyes and looked at him. But then there was something so terribly strange and off putting about the way she had regarded him- and was still regarding him even now.

Almost like- almost like she didn't recognize him.

Now he wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, in fact the dead last of Konoha was often referred to as the perpetual 'hopeless wonder' of the village. But after leaving to train with the Toad Sage, Jiriaya- Naruto had returned to the village a little more intelligent, a little more thick skinned, a little more stubborn and with a wider variety of jutsu to preform in defense of his home and his friends. However, those jutsu had failed him the night Sakura had gotten hurt. Even Kakashi's jutsu's which usually backed his own up, had failed.

So perhaps what he was thinking was nothing more than paranoid feelings of guilt about Sakura. But for some odd reason, the nagging in the back of his mind simply wouldn't let things go.

Looking back at Sakura he noted that her eyes were closed and her breathing was shallow, consistent with sleep and mentally kicked himself. _Damn, I wonder when that happened? _He thought as he then glanced over at the plate balanced in his other hand and sighed when he noted that half of the apple bits were gone and smiled faintly.

Well at least she had eaten something. That was a vast improvement over her at present, all nothing diet.

Still, this was a far cry from good and the Kyubbi vessel knew it as he set the plate aside very quietly and withdrew into himself for what must have been the thousandth time since Sakura had gotten wounded, and tried to figure out just _how_ a mere paper bomb and a couple of damned trees and rocks had taken down the invincible Haruno Sakura.

_It was you're fault you know- _Was it really? He wondered as he rubbed his eyes tiredly. He knew it was his fault. Both him and Kakashi had gotten a bit too arrogant on that last mission and the voice in his head confirming what he already knew didn't help anything but to make him feel guilt over how things had turned out for his childhood friend. _Yes. You and Kakashi walked right into that trap without a thought to how you would escape. And Sakura came after you both to prevent you from being burned- thrown through trees and rocks and having your bones broken- your insides shredded- She came after you to prevent your deaths... Did you really think she'd enjoy standing over both of your coffins?_

He didn't. But the point was irrelevant now. He and Kakashi were both alive and well. While Sakura had suffered- no that wasn't right. Was still suffering on their behalf. _What ungrateful bastards we've become in recent years... _Naruto thought as he heard a small knock on the door.

Turning his head slightly as the door opened, he wasn't surprised to see a messy mop of silver hair as Kakashi poked his head in and looked around for a moment before his one eye landed on Naruto and narrowed at the sight of the blond.

_Ah_, Naruto thought in almost amusement, _It would seem that Kakashi still has a bone to pick with me for knocking him out the other day. _The man stepped into the room and silently closed the door before snarling, "Naruto..." No doubt that the Jounin was probably wondering why the blond was even visiting Sakura during daylight hours since he'd been avoiding doing so since the other day when Tsunade had finally let them see their friend.

All Naruto had taken was five seconds in the same room with the others to see for himself that Sakura was alive. That she was breathing. She had been deeply asleep then and in pain, if her expression had been anything to go by- no doubt from popping a few stitches in her abdomen- and as relieved as the Kyubbi vessel had been, he had also been deeply disturbed by how Sakura looked laying in the hospital bed.

She had looked so much smaller and more delicate than the young woman he knew could punch him through a wall without the slightest bit of provocation. And he hadn't liked it.

Not in the least.

So he had bailed as quickly as he could. And after that he had sort of gone into hiding since he had known that Kakashi would undoubtedly be after his blood for the little stunt he had pulled when the elder had freaked out. Besides a day or so to recompose himself had been good- more or less. He had regrouped internally and the very next day, he had returned to the hospital after everyone else had already come to visit and had been sitting with Sakura ever since.

"Maa. Don't take that damned tone with me or I might be sorely tempted to use you for target practice later when your on your way home, sensei." Naruto warned as he grabbed another piece of fruit from the basket that Shika had brought by the other day and started to peel it without bothering to look at it.

He wasn't taking his eyes off of his furious former sensei, besides at this point he may very well be peeling the very skin off of his hand- the man was giving him such a strange look. Then again, maybe the look had more to do with his tone just now. Or the sort of threat? Naruto didn't know and he didn't really care.

He was tired. Cranky. Hungry-

"I brought food." Kakashi said after a heartbeat or so of silence as he held up a large bag full of goodies. Naruto blinked as he slowly digested what the other man had said. Had he ever mentioned to anyone that Kakashi was one of his favorite people in the whole world?

"I was going to see if Sakura was awake so that I could sit with her a while and perhaps wrangle her into eating something. I have grapes, banana's, oranges, pears, some takeout from Ichiraku and some red bean soup."

"A weird combination," Naruto commented as he stopped peeling the fruit in his hands.

"I suppose it is." Kakashi agreed before saying almost awkwardly, "But I suck at figuring out what type of foods girls like. Especially when they're sick or injured," But then in Kakashi's defense he rarely visited friends or comrades in the hospital since they were usually dead. And shopping for a living person was difficult enough. So Naruto didn't comment on the awkwardness of the Copy nin's attempt to be helpful. "How long has she been out?" Kakashi asked, finally changing the subject as he glanced over at Sakura who was still sleeping pretty soundly since the sound of their voices hadn't woken her.

"She was awake a few minutes ago. And I managed to get her to eat a little bit of these apple bits, but I think with her throat still messed up- apples, pears, pineapples and the like should be banned from her diet for the time being. So she should appreciate the grapes and oranges, banana's, and some of the other stuff you brought for her."

"Hmm. That's your round about way of demanding I give you the ramen isn't it?"

"Couldn't hurt since it has crunchy things that are sometimes difficult to chew and swallow."

"Did you forget that I'm still pissed at you?" Kakashi asked in a very low dangerous tone that he took on when he was about to lose his temper. "Why, if I were to give you the ramen I just might poison it first." And he isn't kidding either, Naruto noted. The man was serious about poisoning him for what he had done to him the other day.

Had he mentioned lately that Kakashi could be a low down rat bastard when he wanted to be?

_"Fine."_ Naruto spat at the older man as he held his hand out for the takeout dish and chop sticks. It was a good thing that they were at the hospital already cause he was fairly sure that he was going to regret this.


	8. Chapter 8

"You unbelievable bastard-" Naruto panted from the floor where he had collapsed just a second ago after eating the ramen that Kakashi had given to him. Hedid it._ The fucking retard had actually had the gall to carry out his earlier threat and poison me!_ He thought angrily as he felt the burning sensation of the poison slowly running through his blood. Numbing him slightly to any actual sensation of feeling in his limbs as Kakashi walked over to him and squatted down in front of him and gave him an eye smile before reaching for his face and patting Naruto's cheek- _hard_ with his gloved hand.

"I'm sorry Naruto, did you say something about using me for target practice earlier?" Kakashi asked in a jovial tone. Apparently thinking that whatever he had given him had completely neutralized him so that he could play his little sadistic games with the teen without fear or worry of retaliation.

He might have been right if not for the fact that Naruto had been secretly building a tolerance to poisons for the past year or so under the close supervision of Sakura and Tsunade. So letting himself slump back against the wall a bit, he noted how pleased Kakashi seemed with himself for the moment and wondered if Tsunade would hate him if he got to his feet, grabbed the older man by the head and slowly started to crush his skull for pulling such a stunt? But then again he supposed that he would miss him if he crushed his skull.

After all aside from Sakura and Sai (sometimes) Kakashi was the only person on team Kakashi that presented a real challenge of wits.

So maybe he'd just throw him out the window and claim that Kakashi had decided to try flying? Yeah that could work, but first- first he wanted to do something about the fact that he'd been poisoned by his team leader. Something fast yet painful to teach him not to cross him again would work.

"Oh believe me sensei- We've moved well past the point where I'll use you for target practice." Naruto growled as he thought about how to retaliate. His movements were limited. Which meant that his strength was too for the moment. So getting into a knock down drag out fist fight was out. Especially with Sakura in the room and helpless.

The last thing they would need is to accidentally hit her bed and jostle her or accidentally rip out her IV or something. So maybe a small semi childish retaliation would work... Maybe.

And what was a little retaliation without the Kyubbi's help?

_**Kyuu**_**_bi, mind lending me some of your power? _**

**How much?**

_**Not much. My life isn't in danger. I just want to teach sensei a little lesson.**_

**Very well kit. Have fun.**

_**Oh, I will.** _Naruto thought wickedly as he felt the seal on his stomach heat up slightly as the demon let some of it's power leak through to him. Causing his azure blue eyes to bleed to scarlet and he felt his gums ache a little bit as his canine's lengthened into small fangs as Kakashi moved back to stand in front of him. Obviously not finished gloating just yet.

"Is that so?" The Jounin asked in a menacing tone as he bent down at the waist so that he and Naruto would have been eye to eye if not for the fact that Naruto was getting ready to make his move and wasn't about to give away the fact that he was about to pull something on Kakashi by letting the man see his eyes or fangs.

"Yeah. Way past. I think we're now in the general area where you shouldn't walk down any dark alley's at night." He felt rather than saw Kakashi's eye narrow at him and could practically hear the gears in the mans head working. He might figure Naruto out. But he probably won't do it in time to spare himself some pain- Naruto thought with a feral grin as he more or less launched himself at the startled Jounin, bringing his arms up and wrapping them about the man's middle as he stumbled back and then fell when Naruto hooked one arm around his legs and jerked them out from under him.

Causing them both to fall. Kakashi hit the floor on his back, his head slamming into the tile painfully as Naruto quickly straddled his waist facing away from him and in a quick move that had Kakashi moving to cover his mouth to keep from yelping (or swearing) he then bit into the tender skin of the Jounin's calf. _"Son of a-"_ Kakashi all but shouted as he pushed at Naruto's back with one hand while he felt Naruto's fangs sink deep into his flesh before the teen released him only to repeat the action closer to his ankle.

Actually biting through his shoe a bit.

"Ah!" Kakashi yelped as he made a fist and partially pushed himself upright and made an attempt to punch the blond who instead of releasing him like before was just sitting there- gnawing on his frigging leg! "Let go you little ass!" He snarled at the teen from behind his mask and got a very rude gesture from Naruto involving his middle finger while he continued to chew on his leg.

Oh he was going to murder the brat if he ever managed to extract himself from Naruto's hands and- er, teeth as he reared back his fist and gave Naruto a nice painful punch to one of his kidney's causing the blond to let him go for a second. Just long enough to yelp and then return to gnawing on his elder who was now spitting oaths and curses at the teen in between punches.

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Everyone in the hospital knew that shinobi had peculiar ways of dealing with pain, guilt, and grief. Team Kakashi was no different in this with the exception that whenever one of their team was wounded and in the hospital healing- they tended to get a little...well, _odd_. Although Shizune- poor, unfortunate Shizune had had the misfortune of getting caught red handed trying to steal Tsunade's secret stash of alcohol and thus had been assigned to work a triple shift.

Plus put up with any weirdness from Team Kakashi.

So naturally when she walked into Sakura's hospital room to check her vitals and her meds and see how she was doing and walked in on Naruto loudly state, "You son of a bitch if you punch me there one more time- I'm going to bite off your dick!" Causing Shizune to make a funny little sound in the back of her throat, drawing the wide eyed gaze of the two floundering and now mortified shinobi that had paused their fighting as she stepped out of the room and threw her hands (and files) in the air and walked off muttering about how she needed a new job.

One preferably away from Team Kakashi and all it's weirdness.


	9. Chapter 9

**_Yo- everyone! I'm back, more or less _****_and since it's been a while I thought I'd update._**

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Things were fairly quiet after Tsunade (*cough* was blackmailed by Shizune so that she wouldn't have to deal with anymore Team Kakashi's weirdness *cough*) took over overseeing Sakura's care until she had almost been in the hospital for two in a half weeks before she really started to show any improvement, little or otherwise.

It wasn't Sakura's fault, Tsunade thought as she stood over the girl checking her abdomen wound which for some insane reason she didn't understand had become infected, and had gone totally unnoticed by everyone else supposed to be helping her recover a few days ago- causing said girl to run a high fever for about four days since she hadn't been responding to the meds they had given to her for the infection at first.

Which had been a bit...well, _odd_. Especially since Sakura's body usually responded to any and all meds she was given by Tsunade. But now that her fever had broken and her wound was no longer infected, Sakura was healing up right on schedule.

Which was just fantastic since it meant that she'd soon be able to send the girl home on a few weeks medical leave just to make sure that she healed up alright. Still, she was happy with the little progress Sakura was making despite the obvious setbacks.

The girl had been staying awake for longer periods of time, eating semi solid foods for several days like pudding, jello, mashed potato's- and was slowly but surely working her way up to sandwhiches, salads and such. Why, she'd even been communicating with her team mates and ordering them not to do stuff via a not pad and magic markers that Sai had been sweet enough to give her.

The only thing that really seemed off, or perhaps even alarming about Sakura's time spent in the hospital is when she had been given the note pad and markers- _was_- or rather _had been _the first thing that she had written down.

**_Who are you?_**

And as if that wasn't strange or even alarming enough, there had been the time team Kakashi had crowded in her room several days ago. All four of the men had been talking and hovering and fussing all at once when Sakura had once again picked up her note pad and markers and written, **_Who are you?_ **

Which had all but automatically silenced everyone in the room and made them all go deathly still.

Until Tenzou had laughed and told her that it wasn't nice to play such jokes on them, thus easing everyone's unease and tension but Sakura's. But it had only lasted a short while before both Naruto and Kakashi had begun to observe certain inconsistent patterns in Sakura's usual behavior. How she wrote, how she looked at them, how she even ate- which had been reduced to using her fingers since using chop sticks was a tad bit difficult for her now- had the two men worried.

And after a lengthy argument with Naruto and Kakashi that had gone on to the wee hours of the morning the night before, which had left her with an nearly overpowering need to beat them both senseless. Tsunade had taken their fear for Sakura's mental health into consideration and so today once the girl had woken up- Tsunade had sent her off to have an EEG, and several memory tests and had found out that not only did Sakura not know how to pass the memory tests, but she seemed to have forgotten where she lived, that she was a medic.

A ninja.

Her last and middle name's, her birthday, age, and who her team mates and friends were. Everything important about her, everything she had once known seemed to have been erased by something. Or perhaps it had all been erased by _someone_. She wasn't totally sure since the girl wasn't under the influence of any jutsu. And at this particular point in time- she wasn't sure about the exact cause of Sakura's memory loss. It could have been a jutsu that had dispersed on it's own after a few hours, or it could have been a blow to the head.

That last mission had done a number on Sakura in more ways than one and since Tsunade was still in the dark about what all she had forgotten and what she managed to remember- She was jolted out of her thoughts by a small tug on one of her shirt sleeve and glanced over to see her former student's mint green eyes staring her down a moment before she held up her note pad and let Tsunade read the scrawled writing across the paper.

**_How's everything looking?_ **

"Everything is looking good."

**_Fucking A. When can you get me the hell out of here?_**

Tsunade blinked at the words before chuckling to herself in amusement, _Look how eager she is to leave. _"You can leave in another few days. First I want to make arrangements for someone to stay with you for the next few weeks until your totally healed and watch you just in case you pop your stitches again or get another infection. Said person will also help you should you feel the need to try your hand at house work, cooking, heavy lifting..."

**_Ugh-huh... No. _**Came Sakura's reply.

"Sorry, it's either you let me do this or you stay here until I say otherwise." Tsunade said in a cheery tone that she knew would set Sakura's teeth on edge. Pulling her gown down over her stomach until it was covering her again and straightened her spine as Sakura glared at her.

Oh yes, she couldn't wait to get the girl out of her hospital so that life could get back to normal.


End file.
